N.Y. HAY Law § 131-H

§ 131-h. Separate highway districts in certain counties. The board may\nestablish separate highway districts in counties containing more than\nthree hundred thousand acres of unimproved unoccupied forest lands, for\nthe purpose of constructing highways through such lands; such highway\ndistricts to be established upon the application of the owners of more\nthan one-half to the non-resident lands therein. Any such highway\ndistrict shall consist of contiguous tracts or parcels of land, and may\ninclude parts of one or more towns; and they may be changed, altered or\nabolished at any time by the board. Such board may appoint one or more\ncommissioners to lay out and construct such highways in any such\ndistrict, and prescribe the powers and duties, and direct the manner in\nwhich highway taxes shall be assessed, levied and collected upon the\nlands within the district, and the manner of expenditure thereof.\n If obligations should be issued on behalf of the district, the board\nmay, for the purpose of repaying such loan, set aside and appropriate\nthe highway taxes upon such lands, for a period not exceeding ten years\nfrom the time of making such loan.\n The board may, upon the application of the owners representing a\nmajority in value, as shall be ascertained from the last annual\nassessment-roll of the real estate lying along the line of any highway,\nlaid out through unimproved lands, in cases not provided for in the last\npreceding section, authorize the appropriation of the non-resident\nhighway tax on the lands lying along such line, for the improvement of\nsuch highways.\n The board may direct the expenditure of any non-resident highway or\nbridge tax, set apart by an act of the legislature, in counties wherein\nsuch non-resident lands are situated, when the official life of\ncommissioners appointed to receive and expend such taxes has expired.\n